Anti-Aging Night Concentrate ($19.99/1.7 ounces) has a high concentration of silicones, which help make skin feel silky-smooth, but silicones don’t have an impact on the skin’s firmness or elasticity, they just make skin feel good. This serum works well as a lightweight moisturizer for all skin types, and it contains lots of antioxidants, although not in impressive proportions. Still, the packaging will keep them stable and there are several skin-identical ingredients to keep normal to slightly oily skin hydrated without feeling greasy.

Strengths: An excellent assortment of foundations with sunscreen; very good powders, liquid eyeliner, lip pencil, and mascaras; inviting and well-organized in-store displays.

Weaknesses: Company discontinued all of their skin-care products; despite their hypoallergenic claims they still included potentially irritating and sensitizing ingredients; mediocre blush and eyeshadows; lipsticks with sunscreen that do not provide sufficient UVA protection.

Ideal Lipcolor Lipstick SPF 17 ($7.49) does not contain the UVA-protecting ingredients of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone, Tinosorb, or Mexoryl SX. That’s shocking considering this essential element of sun protection is something Almay clearly knows about. Making matters worse, the creamy formula contains peppermint oil, and for that reason is not recommended.

Makeup Remover Towelettes ($5.99/25 towelettes) are essentially a gentle, water-soluble cleanser in premoistened cloth form. This basic formula will remove a light makeup application but is not capable of removing mascara, long-wearing foundation, or lip color. It is best for normal to slightly dry or slightly oily skin.

Smart Shade Bronzer ($8.99) is nearly identical to the Smart Shade Blush, except the color saturation is stronger, so you need less per application to produce noticeable results. The blending qualities and soft matte finish remain the same, as does the fact that this liquid bronzer is best for normal to oily skin. The main drawback is the color itself, which tends toward orange regardless of your skin tone. That limits the appeal and doesn’t make this preferred to other bronzing options.

Strengths: Great cleansers, toners, and moisturizers that meet or exceed basic expectations while offering more for skin than just aloe; some OK masks and specialty products; almost every category of makeup has winning products to consider.

Weaknesses: Several products contain irritating essential oils, including peppermint. No products to effectively address the needs of those with blemish-prone skin; overpriced anti-aging products with mundane formulas; only one sunscreen and it contains an irritating citrus oil; lip gloss with wintergreen; lackluster to poor concealers and powder.

 Lumitone HP ($59.95/1 ounce) is a water- and silicone-based serum (aloe is on board too, seeing as how Aloette can’t get enough of it) that claims to be a “singularly efficient and fast acting skin lightening therapy.” That sounds great, but the therapy turns out to be somewhat dubious since the only ingredient with some convincing research pertaining to its ability to lighten skin discolorations is alpha-arbutin. There’s not much of it in here, and because formulary protocols concerning how much is needed for efficacy are lacking, it’s safe to assume that Aloette is simply guessing. This has merit as a lightweight serum for normal to oily skin, but for the money you’re better off seeking a product with the proven lightening agent hydroquinone.

 Perfect Life Plus Boosting Serum ($60.00/1 ounce) has more of a lotion than serum texture, and doesn’t contain a single ingredient to justify its high price. Sweet almond seed extract is not a key anti-aging ingredient. The mix of plant extracts in this water-based serum is a balance of pros and cons, but there isn’t enough of any of them to warrant praise or concern.

 Water-Resistant Mechanical Brow Definer ($13) has been through some positive changes and is now recommended for its smooth, non-stiff application and convenient built-in brush for brow grooming. This automatic pencil is not retractable, so don’t wind up more than you need. Only two shades are available, workable for blonde to light brown brows. Those with medium brown, auburn, or black brows will have to shop elsewhere!

Strengths: A good selection of well-priced, effective AHA products utilizing glycolic acid; also excels with skin-lightening and retinol products; a small but workable selection of cleansers; Alpha Hydrox is one of the only companies selling AHA products that is forthcoming about AHA percentage and pH level (both critical to ensuring you’re getting an effective exfoliant).

Weaknesses: Problematic sunscreens and a couple of moisturizers with oxygenating ingredients; reliance on jar packaging for some products with antioxidants.

 Foaming Face Wash ($6.99/6 ounces) is similar to but slightly more basic than the Facial Moisturizing Cleanser. It is water-soluble with a slight foaming action. Expect this to do a sufficient job removing makeup and consider it recommended for all skin types except very oily. Foaming Face Wash is also fragrance-free.

 Intensive AHA Revitalizing Peel ($15.99/6 masks) steeps a 14% solution of glycolic acid onto face-shaped cloth masks. The pH of 3.7 ensures exfoliation, but you’re better off using a leave-on AHA product rather than something like this that has short-term contact with skin. Alpha Hydrox did add a few bells and whistles to this formula, and it’s fine for occasional use—but for best results, use it in tandem with a leave-on AHA product.

 Oxygenated Moisturizer ($14.99/2 ounces) claims to oxygenate skin while stimulating collagen production, but providing oxygen to intact, otherwise healthy skin is detrimental because it causes free-radical damage (Source: Aging Cell, June 2007, pages 361–370; Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, September 2007, pages 2181–2196; and Human and Experimental Toxicology, February 2002, pages 61–62). Alpha Hydrox used peroxidized corn oil in the form of TriOxygen-C, a patented ingredient that is also used in the Neoteric line for treating diabetic skin ulcers (Neoteric is the parent company of Alpha Hydrox). Although this ingredient’s function is beneficial for supplying oxygen and promoting healing of ulcers, the physiological process that skin enacts to heal wounds is vastly different from treating wrinkles or supplying oxygen to non-wounded skin. Both repeated use of any peroxidized substance and delivering extra oxygen to skin are damaging (Sources: Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery, May 2007, pages 225–230; Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, May 2007, pages 1980–1981; and Cell Tissue Bank, 2000, volume 1, issue 4, pages 261–269).

Strengths: Many state-of-the-art moisturizers, though they’re not without their issues; Lauder’s formulary expertise in the moisturizer category at a lower price point than most other Lauder-owned lines; good foundations without sunscreen; good powders; excellent powder blush; several lip-enhancing options, including a remarkable long-wearing lip paint.

Weaknesses: Problematic toners, lackluster scrub, sunscreens whose UVA-protecting ingredients are present but at questionable amounts. No skin-lightening, AHA, BHA, or effective anti-acne products; jar packaging; foundations and lipsticks with sunscreen that lacks sufficient UVA protection; poor concealer.

 Fabulous Froth Gel Cleanser ($12.50/5 ounces) is a standard, detergentbased, water-soluble cleanser that would work for someone with normal to oily skin. The drawback is that it might be too drying for most skin types and the inclusion of irritant menthyl lactate makes it a tough sell.

 Perfectly Even Natural Finish Foundation ($16.50) goes on evenly and the coverage is light to medium, so it does look fairly natural on the skin. The silicone-based formula, best for someone with normal to dry skin, does separate, so you must shake it before you apply it. Of the 14 shades, Medium/Warm and Medium/Cool can appear too peach, and Light/Cool can look too pink on the skin.

Super Plush 10-Hour Lipcolor ($16.50) is American Beauty’s version of Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lip Duo and M.A.C.’s Pro Longwear Lipcolour. All of these include a lip color “paint” and glossy top coat packaged in a dual-sided slim component. You apply the lip color, allow one minute for it to dry, then apply the glossy top coat, which ensures comfortable wear. As with the Lauder and M.A.C. versions, the lip color applies smoothly (many of the shades go on opaque and most have some degree of shimmer) and feels drier as it sets. The silicone-based top coat adds a beautiful sheen without feeling slick, sticky, or greasy and the duo wears beautifully. Mine stayed on through coffee, lunch, and a late afternoon snack. As expected, the eventual color fading began at the inner portion of the lips and moved outward. The only drawback to American Beauty’s option is that you may find yourself applying the top coat more often than others due to its thinner texture.

Strengths: Most of the NutriMinC RE⁹ products have merit and contain an exciting blend of antioxidants and ingredients that mimic the structure and function of healthy skin; a small selection of basic but effective cleansers and masks; good powder, eyeshadow, and blush; brush and color sets are worth a look.

Weaknesses: Consistent and pervasive use of volatile fragrant oils that are irritating, allergenic, and/or photosensitizing for skin; no effective AHA or BHA products; no skin-lightening or effective anti-acne products; only one sun-care product that does not contain problematic ingredients; average foundations and eye pencils; bad concealer and mascara; this direct sales line perpetuates false information about several cosmetic ingredients; overzealous sales representatives; returning a product is not easy or convenient.

 Clear Advantage Acne Wash ($15.50/4 ounces) uses salicylic acid as its active ingredient, but in a cleanser its benefit for blemish-prone skin is wasted. Even if the salicylic acid may have an impact on skin before rinsing, this water-soluble cleanser is not recommended due to the peppermint it contains.